THE Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday that surrendering Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to the International Criminal Court (ICC), should an arrest warrant be issued, remains a viable option aside from the comparatively longer extradition process.
DOJ Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan clarified after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin earlier remarked that Dela Rosa would not be automatically handed over to the ICC.
“To close the door on one option and focus solely on extradition limits the state’s discretion,” Chan explained.
He noted that under Republic Act No. 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, the government may choose between extradition and surrender.
When asked whether surrender would be the faster route, Chan acknowledged that extradition could take significantly longer to execute once an arrest warrant is issued.
“We’re looking at possibly months for extradition, whereas surrender would definitely be a shorter process,” Chan said.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon added that despite the two possible legal paths, the Philippine government is expected to comply should a request be made. “I believe we will have to comply,” he said.
NO ARREST REQUEST RECEIVED
Chan and Fadullon stressed that the Philippine government has not received any arrest request from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
This comes after Ombudsman and former DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced Saturday that the ICC had already issued a warrant for Dela Rosa’s arrest.
Fadullon also said that if an arrest order does surface, the government will give due courtesy to the Supreme Court, which is currently handling petitions questioning the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte—including one filed by Dela Rosa himself.
“We want to be more careful this time. The circumstances now are different; previously, no petition had been filed before the Supreme Court. Now, as a matter of courtesy, we would prefer to await its resolution,” he said.
NO EXTRADITION TREATY WITH ICC
The DOJ also addressed concerns that extradition requires a requesting state. Chan explained that while the ICC may qualify as such, a complication arises because the Philippines has no extradition treaty with the court.
“If they submit an extradition request, we have no treaty with the ICC to process that,” he said.
‘HE IGNORED IT’
Kristina Conti, assistant to counsel at the ICC, said a warrant can be issued against a person under investigation who ignores the court’s summons.
She noted that Dela Rosa himself previously admitted he did not respond to ICC attempts to contact him.
“Remember that two years ago, there were reports that he was being invited to cooperate with the ICC. He ignored it, saw the summons but did not act, so perhaps the ICC sees that he won’t voluntarily cooperate, thus a warrant may be issued,” Conti told one media source.
Dela Rosa, former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), is accused of being a co-perpetrator of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the violent anti-drug campaign.